Upon a Sure Foundation

Society must have a firm foundation – one built upon trust in God and not the arm of flesh. 

It was a misty, bleak morning when I awoke.  The ground was still damp with the morning dew, and the sky, a bleak grey.  As I began to walk quietly about, I came to a wooded area I was not familiar with.  Intrigued by the prospect of adventure, I entered the wood.  Upon entry, I was alerted to a presence, one that felt so strange, and yet so familiar.  The feeling seemed to draw me into the wood.  Sensing no danger, I followed the impression. 

 As I moved deeper into the wood, the darkness grew, as did my anxiety.  Finally, I reached a clearing of sorts.  In the clearing I beheld what was left of what seemed to be a great building.  The building was massive and from what I could tell, at one time was very richly ornamented.  Despite its ruined state, I felt a sense of former greatness and power, now lost to time.  Much of the building had collapsed and laid in ruin.

 As I began to examine the building, I searched for the source of the collapse.  I quickly found it.  The building's foundation had collapsed under the immense pressure of the building.  As I continued to examine the foundation, I came upon what appeared to be words carved into the foundation.  Because of the time that had passed and the collapse, all I could make out was “I  G d  e  T  st.”

 At that moment, a pure beam of light broke through the clouds and struck the building.  All at once I could see the building in its former greatness.  The building was large and beautiful and gave off a sense of power and right.  Remembering the words that had been carved upon the foundation, I went to see what it had said.  As soon as I moved my gaze to the foundation, I found it.  In the beautiful granite of the foundation was clearly and beautifully carved, “In God We Trust”. 

 With my question now answered, I turned my attention to the inhabitants of the great building.  They were all very fair to look upon, and each seemed to have its own uniqueness.  They also seemed to give off this sense of power and right. They were benevolent and virtuous and gave aid to those in need. They were the guardians of the forest around them and were able to triumph over all those that would come against them.  They made great discoveries and continued to expand the great building.  

 As I stood there in awe, I began to watch the people change.  They became more prideful and no longer cared for the forest around them.  They no longer maintained the foundation on which the building was built.  They strayed from the ways in which they were taught and began to make choices and follow ideas that began to weaken the foundation.  As they continued to follow those ideas and lifestyles, they continuously weakened the foundation.  I wanted to shout to them and alert them to the damage and danger they were causing, but I could not.  There were those among them that did warn them and tried to stop them, but the other inhabitants ignored and mocked them, calling them fools and claimed that they were holding them back.

 Soon, they had weakened the foundation so much that it could no longer hold the great building, and it collapsed.  It was an awful sight to behold, as these people who had at once been so great and powerful, destroyed themselves and their home.  Almost all the inhabitants died in the great collapse, and those that did not, fled into the forest. 

 As the vision closed, I felt hot tears flow down my cheeks for the building and for those that had been destroyed.  I turned from the great building and headed back into the forest. As I did, I looked back one last time upon the foundation, and the words that I now knew said, “In God We Trust”.   

As I came out of the forest I notice how the clouds had parted, and now flooded the land with beautiful sunshine and warmth.  When I arrived at my home, I pondered what I had seen and learned in the forest.  I went over the choices and mistakes of the people who lived in the building and the importance of the foundation of the building.  I finally understood what I could do to insure that the same calamity did not occur to my family and home.  We need a sure foundation.  I arose and with a chisel carved above my doorway the words, “In God We Trust.“

Jacob Hibbard is currently a high school student originally from Des Moines, Iowa.  He recently moved to Lugano, Switzerland with his family.  Jacob loves history, politics, and foreign relations.  Jacob plans on going to college at BYU Idaho for a year before serving a mission.